Translator: AnubisTL
"..."
As the slaves finished unloading the day's iron ore and copper ore into Carriage No. 3, Chen Mang finally turned to the Train Panel.
17,739 units of iron ore and 1,120 units of copper ore.
The once-empty cargo carriage had finally become slightly more prosperous. He hadn't used the Tier 2 Copper Mine Refresh Ticket yet, preferring to finish mining the Tier 1 copper ore at the bottom of the Doomsday Abyss first.
This copper mine was a small Tier 1 deposit, and they had to finish mining it before they could move on to the iron ore.
With the resources secured, Chen Mang immediately spent 500 units of iron ore to construct an open-air Carriage. It resembled the coal cars of his previous life, but being a custom-made carriage, it cost slightly more than a standard one.
The open-air Carriage could also be equipped with Armor, though only on three sides, and the resource cost remained the same.
With this addition, the Stellaris train now had its ninth carriage: an open-air Carriage.
Next, Chen Mang retrieved the white-grade Vehicle Component Blueprint for the Rapid-Fire Ballista from his drawer. He placed it against the control panel, and as it dissolved into a white point of light, the train gained the ability to craft this accessory.
The crafting cost was incredibly low: a single Rapid-Fire Ballista required only 100 units of iron ore.
I have to admit...
White-grade Accessories truly understand the meaning of frugality. A single open-air Carriage can hold a maximum of eight Rapid-Fire Ballistas.
Without hesitation, he spent 800 Units of iron ore to fill the carriage.
Then, he spent another 4,400 Units of iron ore to upgrade one of the Rapid-Fire Ballistas to Tier 10. The corresponding two overpowered effects quickly emerged.
"Phew."
Inside the train, Chen Mang exhaled deeply before lighting a cigarette and gazing up at the starry sky. His expression was somewhat dazed as he stood rooted to the spot. Indeed, white-grade Accessories are still the most suitable for me.
The base attribute of the Rapid-Fire Ballista is that it can fire one ballista bolt per minute.
Each bolt is about as thick as a baby's arm and a full fifty centimeters long. Forged entirely from refined steel, its sharp, angular arrowhead radiates a bloodthirsty aura.
You could call it an arrow, or you could call it a siege weapon!
After reaching Tier 10, the ballista can fire ten bolts per minute, and its overall appearance undergoes a dramatic transformation, becoming even more intimidating. The bolts grow wider, evolving from the thickness of a baby's arm to that of an adult's, and their length increases to eighty centimeters.
This thing...
If it were truly aimed at a human, the target probably wouldn't feel much pain.
Especially considering the two overpowered effects it gains upon upgrading.
Tier 5 Overpowered Effect: Rapid-Fire Ballista
The Rapid-Fire Ballista can be linked to the Train Auxiliary AI. As long as enemies are within the Target Acquisition Radar's range, the Train Auxiliary AI will automatically lock onto them, dramatically increasing hit accuracy. This requires the green-grade Train Auxiliary AI Accessory to be fully upgraded.
Tier 10 Overpowered Effect: Rapid-Fire Ballista
Each ballista bolt consumes half the usual resources.
This was the second time he had encountered an overpowered effect with identical properties. The Tier 5 Heavy Machine Gun's overpowered effect could also be linked to the Train Auxiliary AI, granting automatic locking. This would significantly reduce the manpower required to operate the train.
Without this, controlling just eight Rapid-Fire Ballistas would require at least a dozen people.
Furthermore, it greatly improved aiming accuracy and his overall control over the train.
Most importantly—
The ballista bolts required by this accessory didn't need a dedicated production line. Instead, when operating the Rapid-Fire Ballista, a certain amount of iron ore would be consumed to automatically generate the corresponding number of bolts.
Yes, iron ore.
No copper ore was needed; it consumed iron ore instead.
And the price was incredibly low:
Tier 1 Ballista Bolt: 1 Unit of iron ore per boltTier 2 Ballista Bolt: 5 Units of iron ore per boltTier 3 Ballista Bolt: 10 Units of iron ore per bolt
With the overpowered effect halving resource consumption, it became even more affordable.
"Excellent," Chen Mang said with satisfaction, smiling as he exited the locomotive cabin. Standing on the wasteland, he gazed at the open-air carriage at the rear of the train. The slightly elevated Ballistas rested quietly in the night, patiently awaiting the coming war.
For a long time to come, this would be his primary long-range attack method.
True,
The firing rate was a bit slow—ten shots per minute, far slower than a Heavy Machine Gun. But the ballista bolts packed more punch than individual heavy machine gun bullets. Plus, they were cheap and readily available, making them a better fit for Chen Mang's current needs.
After finishing all this, Chen Mang built another open-air carriage and installed four "40-Tube Cherry Blossom Fall Rocket Launchers" inside.
These were blue-grade accessories. Each launcher required 1,000 units of iron ore, totaling 4,000 units for all four.
He checked the resources consumed to reach Tier 2. Just Tiering up required 1,000 units of iron ore. The firing rate was quite fast—a single volley unleashed all 40 rockets in a second.
No dedicated production line was needed for the rockets; resources could be consumed directly.
However, the price was far steeper than heavy machine gun bullets.
Tier 1 Rocket Launcher: 10 units of copper ore per shot. Tier 2 Rocket Launcher: 50 units of copper ore per shot. Tier 3 Rocket Launcher: 100 units of copper ore per shot.
That was a tenfold increase!
If all four "Cherry Blossom Fall Rocket Launchers" were loaded with Tier 3 rockets and fired simultaneously, a single volley would consume 16,000 units of copper ore—enough to deplete an entire Tier 1 Copper Mine in a single round.
Compared to that, the "Rapid-Fire Ballista" still seemed like the better choice.
Five days later, dawn broke.
The Tier 2 Iron Ore mine at the bottom of the Doomsday Abyss was nearly exhausted. It would be fully depleted within a week at most. Meanwhile, the Tier 1 Copper Mine had been completely mined out today.
However, a brand-new Tier 2 Copper Mine had appeared nearby, created by Chen Mang using a "Tier 2 Copper Mine Refresh Ticket."
Over the past few days, nothing unexpected had occurred. Everything had proceeded smoothly, and Chen Mang had accumulated a substantial amount of resources: 80,000 Units of iron ore and 6,600 Units of copper ore.
As dawn broke, the slaves were already lining up efficiently under the supervision of Old Pig and the others to receive their morning meal. Chen Mang, alone in the locomotive cabin, prepared to spend his accumulated resources in one fell swoop.
Some of his Accessories had only been upgraded to Tier 5 due to insufficient resources.
Chen Mang, however, had a slight obsessive-compulsive streak, and those Tier 5 Accessories always seemed to bother him.
They had to be upgraded to Tier 10 to look right.
First, the Windfire Wheel.
Upgrading it from Tier 5 to Tier 10 required 35,000 Units of iron ore.
"Hmm."
Chen Mang nodded, gazing at the upgrade cost displayed on the semi-transparent panel before him. He silently decided to abandon the idea.
Go to hell with that!
35,000 Units of iron ore could buy him a new life.
Suddenly, Chen Mang realized his obsessive-compulsive disorder seemed to have been cured. The Tier 5 Windfire Wheel now looked quite pleasing to the eye.
(End of the Chapter)
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